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Aging fleet, gauge error to blame for bus breakdowns, says STM boss

“There are a multitude of factors why buses are in the garage,” says STM director general Luc Tremblay.Photo by Allen McInnis/ Montreal Gazette

An aging fleet of buses, limited work shifts in which to repair them and improperly set gauges on its new hybrid models are among the reasons Montreal’s bus system has been plagued with maintenance issues and seen a 10-fold increase in the number that run out of gas en route.

These were among the main reasons Luc Tremblay, director general of the Société de transport de Montréal, cited in a presentation of theSTM’s 2019 budget to the city’s standing committee on finance and administration Thursday.

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The presentation came in response to a series of articles in the Montreal Gazette and other media last week outlining a surge in maintenance issues with Montreal’s bus fleet that showed as many as one in four were sitting in the garage awaiting repairs instead of out on the road this year. At the same time, it came out that hundreds of buses had to be towed every year because they were running out of gas. Members of the STM’s maintenance union, which is currently in contract negotiations with the city, said the issues were linked to staff cutbacks, poor management and the fact many buses lack gas gauges.

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In an overview of the last six years of service, Tremblay found that on average, 20 per cent of the STM’s fleet of roughly 1,800 buses were out of service for maintenance. In 2018, there was a surge of 450 buses out of service at the end of October, nearly 25 per cent. Tremblay stressed that in the past, there were still enough buses on the road to guarantee full service. But this year, due to the increase, the system was lacking as many as 69 buses in a day.

Much of this was due to regularly scheduled preventive maintenance that are required by law, Tremblay said. Industry standards worldwide see an average of about 16 per cent of buses in maintenance, largely due to regular maintenance checks.

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As well, the average age of buses of the Montreal fleet is 8.8 years, so they break down more often. In 2013, the average age was 6.2 years. Recurring problems involve the doors, transmissions and particulate filters used to clean exhaust fumes.

Buses need to be repaired in the evenings and weekends when fewer buses are on the road, but 68 per cent of maintenance shifts are scheduled during the day, limiting the number of work shifts during which buses can be fixed, Tremblay said. A lack of garage space is also an issue.

The STM is partially funded by the Quebec government, and the STM’s contract with the province requires buses be used for at least 16 years, Tremblay said. As well, the contract stipulates using made-in-Quebec buses, which limits the number of suppliers the STM has to choose from when going to tender.

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“We have had one supplier for the 25 years I have been with the STM,” Tremblay said. “It’s OK, we are protecting jobs in Quebec, that has to be done, but it remains that when you don’t have competition, it can be that you have a bit less pressure from on high to have buses of top quality.

“They are good, our buses, the supplier does an excellent job, but there could be an improvement with having a bit of competition. We have been trying for years to open up the market but unfortunately it is not possible here in Quebec.”

The STM’s buses are built by Nova Bus, headquartered in St-Eustache.

The tender system also calls for choosing the lowest bidder, further complicating the process, he said.

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In 2016, there was an average of one bus running out of gas every 10 days. Buses built before 2010 had no gauges, because it was known exactly how far they drove each day. When new hybrid buses were supplied in 2017 and 2018, the gauge indicating when the buses were nearly out of gas was set too low, resulting in a surge in breakdowns, Tremblay said. The problem has since been corrected.

“There are a multitude of factors why buses are in the garage,” Tremblay said. “We have to work to open the market, to have a better reliability, and to have the garage space and work shifts to allow them to be repaired.”